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Diversity and Equity

For the excellence and equity in education on which our future depends, we need a system of public education that ensures all students have a real and meaningful opportunity to achieve rigorous college and career-ready standards. It needs to consist not only of mastery of core subjects, but training in critical thinking and problem-solving, as well as 21st century concerns like global awareness, technical skills, and financial literacy. We cannot have a strong democracy without informed and engaged citizens.

Book Study: Manny Scott
Alternative Day: 2016
Building Social Capital

I was so blessed to spend time with Manny Scott at the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development conference in Atlanta this past spring. He has an incredible life story that speaks to the excellence and equity within the schools he attended. Although he was challenged by so many factors, like his father being incarcerated, poor attendance, frequent moves, and the sudden loss of his best friend to a brutal murder all before the age of 16, he persevered because of the intervention of others who cared enough to expect more from him. His message is very clear....."do more". As a leader in your building and community, you have the potential to make a tremendous difference by advocating for each and every student in your school. Specifically, carefully allocate financial resources, provide highly qualified staff in high need schools, promote and support early childhood education, provide community needs when possible, extend learning time, and be assertive and accountable about improving equity and excellence. ​

Every year, Mission Valley participates in a themed Alternative Day in recognition of Red Ribbon Week. This day is filled with activities and presentations that support positive choices and good citizenship. Students are exposed to many culturally diverse people, places, and traditions. Some of the sections from this year's Alternative Day included:

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  1. Joel Fager/Kim Sims: EMT- They will be demonstrating the work as an EMT and discuss how they help others in the community that they serve. 

  2. Kansas Pride: Speaking about the 6 Pillars of Character and how they can be active in local communities.

  3. FCCLA: Am. Family Traditions and Am. History: Traditions that have shaped the US and how we come together to be responsible family members 

  4. FCCLA See It, Say It: Importance of standing up to bullying, being a bystander etc. 

  5. FFA Food Walk: Food Walk with Recycling Presentation 

  6. FCCLA: Citizenship Trivia: Game Show format of Questions that are on the test for U.S. Citizenship

  7. FCCLA: Online Citizenship: Online Safety 

  8. Bernadette Trieb:  Parliamentary Procedures: Gavel Games

  9. FFA: GPS/Geocaching: Community of Geocaching and finding local places to discover in your community 

  10. Dustin Kuntz: Citizenship Topic and being an active member of your community 

  11. Luke Bryan: Military Information 

  12. Sheriff Department: Obey traffic/bike laws

  13. American Legion Post: History of the American Flag

  14. Attorney General Derek Schmidt: Duties of the Attorney General's Office and how to be a good citizen  

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Although the school social worker does a large part of the planning for the day, the building principal helps out with the budgeting, communication, and coordination for parking and hospitality. It is time well spent to ensure students are exposed to many different alternatives so that they may lead a drug-free life. 

It's no secret that building social capital will increase student achievement. Research shows that this can be done by moving away from a focus on school improvement, which is driven by individual schools organizing and acting as singular institutions, and moving towards a focus on increasing the value of social capital by creating and sustaining effective educational communities. How is this done? At Mission Valley, there has been increased effort to build trust with parents and community members by engaging them in collaboration, decision-making, and shared mission. I was able to work alongside my building mentor in pursuing community members and parents to become more involved in learning about our school, working together, and sharing a vision. Sometimes this meant meeting at parent-friendly times, providing child care, and using alternative communication methods. One very important take-away for me was that relational trust is the first and essential element of building social capital. 

Alternative Day:

Feedback Sheet

Alternative Day:

Hanging Out with

Attorney General Schmidt

Research Paper: 

Bond, Bridge, or Both:

BUILDING SOCIAL

CAPITAL IN SCHOOLS

Alternative Day:

Schedule

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